Marie-Line Vaiani, Chair of the WFEO Committee on Energy, Secretary General of the French Energy Council and member of the UN-Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, represented WFEO at the Industrial Development Board of UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization), which brought together official delegations from over 53 countries at the United Nations Office in Vienna, from 25 to 27 November 2024.
The agenda included :
- Report on the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa
- Strengthening capacities in developing productive, resilient and sustainable supply chains
- Report on UNIDO activities and key achievements
This underlines the importance of collaboration between engineers and multilateral_institutions in tackling global challenges such as the energy transition and inclusive industrialisation.
According to UNIDO Director General, 5 megatrends that will shape the world by 2050 are:
- Population growth: every year, the world’s population grows by 80 million people. Africa’s population will double by 2050.
- Food demand: global demand for food will rise by 50% in the next 30 years.
- Climate Change and the future of Energy: the world demand will increase by 70% by 2050.
- Scarce resources: essential resources, particularly water and fertil soil, are becoming increasingly rare.
- Job renovation: hundred of millions of jobs are needed in developing countries by 2050 for the growing young population
In face of these challenges, industrialization is a key part of the solution. To create hundreds of millions of jobs, to end hunger and poverty for a growing population, developing countries need industrialization and economic growth of at least 7 to 10 % a year.
DEC
2024